Russia's Sberbank plans release of its own crypto token, the 'Sbercoin'

With a new law coming into effect in Russian, the country's largest bank is planning a new blockchain platform for trading, as well as a native token.

According to a Monday report from Russian business news outlet RBC, Sberbank is planning to jump into crypto come 2021 when a new law "On Digital Financial Assets," or DFA, is set to come into effect. 

The news came from Herman Gref, the CEO and chairman of Sberbank. With over 96 million clients, the state-owned bank is the largest bank in Russia.

There was speculation several months ago that Sberbank was looking into issuing its own stablecoin. The DFA law bans a number of crypto activities, but notably, it does not seem to take issue with stablecoins backed by the ruble — which may have something to do with the nation's central bank looking to digitize its currency as well.